country profile

Bangladesh

South AsiaLower middle income175.69M population

Last updated July 15, 2026

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Severely underprepared

Composite GEFRI Score

Severe readiness constraints across dimensions

Bangladesh shows severely limited readiness to meet the challenges and opportunities of education in a rapidly changing world (34th percentile worldwide). Key structural conditions limit capacity to plan, implement, and sustain forward-looking reforms.

38.17Composite score
Global percentile
34th
Global rank
#117
Regional rank
#5
Viewing data for
Emerging readiness
Infrastructure
52.73
34th percentileGlobal avg. 55.13
Severely underprepared
Human Capital
34.48
23rd percentileGlobal avg. 47.36
Emerging readiness
Innovation
46.62
55th percentileGlobal avg. 46.19
Critically unprepared
Governance
28.87
19th percentileGlobal avg. 47.46
Critically unprepared
Access & Parity
28.17
38th percentileGlobal avg. 48.49

Country profile

Bangladesh faces substantial readiness constraints across core dimensions. Its weakest results are in Human Capital (34, 23rd percentile) and Governance (29, 19th percentile). These gaps continue to weigh on overall readiness.

Uneven scores across dimensions show where readiness conditions are less aligned. Low internet adoption slows digital participation and constrains system-wide modernization. Literacy or tertiary enrollment gaps thin the talent pipeline and limit the country’s capacity to develop future-ready skills.

Sparse R&D investment and a small research workforce slow experimentation and delay new ideas from reaching learners. Policy execution and regulatory capacity remain weak, leaving reforms fragmented and hard to sustain. Girls outperform boys in secondary pathways, adding pressure to address male dropout risks.

Infrastructure presents a near-term leapfrog opportunity: performance is just below the global average, backed by enough observed data to support forward planning. Regionally, Bangladesh leads most clearly in Innovation, sitting well above the peer average.

Some indicators are imputed, so the profile should be read with moderate caution.

Key insights

Falls below many peers at the 34th percentile.

Places 117th worldwide.

Holds a regional position of 5th within South Asia.

Scores range from Infrastructure (52.7) to Access & Parity (28.2), reflecting variation across dimensions.

Leads regional peers most clearly in Innovation.

Regional peers: South Asia

Composite GEFRI Score

Global rankRegional rankCountryScore
851Nepal51.91
882India51.37
983Sri Lanka48.87
1104MaldivesFCS43.04
1175Bangladesh38.17
1186Bhutan38.12
1387Pakistan31.34
1748AfghanistanFCS16.98